Little Hope, Chapter 9

Little Hope never skips breakfast, she thought to herself. Her summonses to the table unanswered, Hope climbed the stairs to check on her daughter. When she opened the door to Little Hope’s bedroom, she averted her eyes as usual from the corner opposite and spied an empty bed. She scanned the room for clues and saw a pile of dismembered toy skeletons on the wooden floor.

Back downstairs, she looked out the kitchen window and noticed the open shed door. She was afraid she might have forgotten to close and lock it after her last drunken cry-mowing session. She dispatched Johnny to check out front and at the cemetery for his sister while she checked the backyard.

From the end of Main Street at the corner of the cemetery, Johnny looked up and down the highway. In the distance to the east, he saw his sister, Little Hope, pedaling furiously into the sun.  

The End